Friday, April 24, 2009

working principle of the tracker


Figure shown here is the tracking device in out prototype. It is the one which follows the sun’s movement through out the day and provides uninterrupted reflection to the solar panel.
The sun rays will fall on the solar panel in two ways, which is, they will fall directly on the solar panel and also the reflector will reflect the incident rays on the solar panel.
Suppose at the time of sun rise the sun is in extreme east the reflector will align itself in some position by which the incident rays will fall on the solar panel. Now when the earth rotates and the sun gets shifted form its earlier position the reflection of the incident rays will also change. Thus as a result the light will fall on the sensors kept on each side of the solar panel. The tracking circuit is so designed that when reflection falls on say the sensor attached to the right of the panel, the tracker will move towards the left, and visa-versa. Similar is the case when the reflection falls on the sensor attached at the top of the panel, circuit will make the tracker to move downwards.
We here have tried to bring two simple principles together. One being, the normal principle of incidence and reflection on which our tracker works. And the other is the principle on which the solar panel works, which is on the incidence of the solar rays the photovoltaic cells, will produce electricity. This both principles are combined there and as a result of which we are able to fetch nearly double the output which the panel gives normally.
Precisely speaking the tracker is liable for two kinds of rotations, on is on the vertical axis and other is on the horizontal axis. The earlier is for the right-left movement of the reflection and the later is for the up-down movement of the reflector, for aligning reflection on the panel.

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